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  • Essay / The role of compassion and teamwork in a medical context

    Table of contentsCompassionTeamworkConclusionThe need for compassion and teamwork is recognized as essential tools to improve patient satisfaction and improve the development of communication to solve health problems of patients. This essay highlights the concept and importance of “teamwork” and “compassion” and is relevant as a current medical student and future physician. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayCompassionCompassion is described as the feeling that promotes care given to relieve the suffering of another person. The General Medical Council (GMC) states that when patients find themselves in difficult situations – this may be in palliative care – doctors have a duty to treat patients with compassion. This is beneficial because compassionate healthcare professionals are more likely to learn more about the patient regarding their condition and thus improve the medical care of a suffering person. Indeed, healthcare providers can build a trusting relationship that allows them to extract a complete and honest history from the patient. A study that explored ways to measure compassion rated interpersonal interaction to increase the quality of patient-centered care and the absence of personal engagement as non-compassionate. Most patients recognize that compassion is more important than the medical aspect because of its ability to comfort and induce trust in qualified professionals. Thus, when patients are in emotional harmony with doctors, their development and recovery process is strengthened. Compassion involves kindness, empathy, respect and dignity. In particular, empathy is a significant skill that allows people to interact better and build a stronger social communication network. I learned this global skill when I noticed an increase in the number of homeless people in my community. On several occasions, I offered people money and unfortunately was able to tell them that it was not enough. This sparked my instinct to act with empathy, so I volunteered at a local food bank. At the food bank, I helped package food parcels for later distribution to the homeless. This involvement, I believe, was a better approach to solving the suffering of homeless people because it impacted a wider community and produced a long-term effect. It helped me develop as a medical student because I learned not to get demoralized. This experience has also influenced me because I can determine when to act appropriately if I see someone in distress; that small actions, like taking time to volunteer, can make a big difference in someone's life. Indeed, this experience I had is very similar to how small acts of compassion in healthcare have been shown to make a big difference in the quality of care provided to a patient. Despite the strong evidence that compassion improves healthcare, recent findings such as the Francis Report have shown that healthcare professionals are not demonstrating compassion in hospitals. Lack of compassion can be due to compassion fatigue, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. This means that medical professionals may be led to act too compassionately and, therefore, ignoretheir own emotional state. This is why it is essential for doctors to maintain a balance between their professional life and their mental well-being. This can be achieved through stress counseling and resilience practices in exchange for becoming compassionate physicians. Not only would this management mean that doctors would be more able to practice in the long term, but patients would also be very satisfied with the patient-doctor relationship. This signifies my obligation to act effectively as a future health care provider, because during my practice I will be exposed to many conditions and therefore I must tolerate extreme emotions to protect my role and primarily provide comfort to patients. I can do this by thinking in a way that doesn't get so caught up in patients' feelings that it affects my status. And yet still be able to act with compassion in a consistent manner. Due to the recent decline in compassion within the healthcare sector, the National Health Service (NHS) has implemented a strategy called 'Compassion in Practice' for nurses. . This strategy not only applies to nurses but also to doctors who care for patients on a daily basis. The NHS also represents the concept of compassion by integrating it into the six constitutional values ​​of the NHS which are: working together for patients, respect and dignity, commitment to quality of care, compassion, improving life and everyone counts. The values ​​are defined accordingly as a basis for healthcare professionals to follow and enable the dynamic functioning of the NHS. It gives a common goal for the multidisciplinary team to work towards and thus commits to a joint effort between team members, which is another and the very first value of the NHS known as 'working together for patients,” indicating the importance of teamwork in determining patient care. .TeamworkTeamwork in medicine is defined as multiple individuals of two or more people who collaborate interdependently toward an achievable outcome for a patient. Effective teamwork occurs when each team member is assigned a certain role and responsibility. The GMC emphasizes the importance of communicating effectively by emphasizing that consistent communication between team members is beneficial to the quality of patient care and that poor communication within team members can on the other hand cause complications. This is supported by research that explored the factors leading to poor patient experience, with the study finding that up to 80% of errors in healthcare are due to a lack of communication between professionals on teams multidisciplinary. This suggests that the approach of individuals plays a large role in determining patient safety, it is important to inform each member of the patient's health care plan and interact appropriately with each other as well. only with the patient to meet expectations. Having understood the causes of medical errors, therefore, as a future doctor, I will have to put as much effort into working with my colleagues, which is as important as interacting with the patient. This will not only improve patient care and non-maleficence but also improve my work environment. A reduction in burnout is also visible; teamwork can be beneficial to medical students, especially when they are stressed. Indeed, strategies, responsibilities and talents are.